Nancy Pelosi ignored Joe Biden’s claims that he was staying in the race to be the Democrats’ presidential candidate in 2024 and said time was “running short” for him to make that decision.

The former Speaker of the House has not endorsed the US President as the party’s best option for beyond his current term. Ms Pelosi told Mr Biden’s favourite morning news show, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, that “it’s up to the President to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short.” 

As one of the Democrats’ most senior figures, her comments are likely to bolster calls from within the party for Mr Biden to step aside.

The 81-year-old President has repeatedly insisted he will seek a second term in November’s White House race, declaring himself the best candidate to beat Donald Trump.

But Ms Pelosi ignored that claim when asked on MSNBC if Mr Biden had her support to top the Democratic ticket. “I want him to do whatever he decides to do,” she said. “And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides we go with.”

She added that Mr Biden was “beloved” by the party, but declined to endorse his 2024 bid.
Her public intervention may galvanise other prominent Democrats, who view Ms Pelosi as one of the few figures who could convince Mr Biden against seeking re-election.

Many in the party have privately, and some publicly, voiced concerns over Mr Biden’s ability to win re-election following an embarrassing debate performance in which he struggled to deliver coherent sentences.

Michael Bennet, a Democratic senator for Colorado, has warned that Republicans could take the White House, the House and the Senate in a “landslide” win if Mr Biden stayed in the race. “It’s critically important for us to come to grips with what we face, if together, we put this country on the path of electing Donald Trump again,” he told CNN.

Democrats are closely watching Mr Biden’s performance at this week’s Nato summit, where he is due to hold a rare solo press conference on Thursday in a bid to prove his ability to serve another four years.

Ms Pelosi said the President and his party should focus on the Nato conference before coming to a decision on Mr Biden’s future. “Let’s just hold off. Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately… but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week,” she told MSNBC.